Method of manufacturing an environmentally resilient structural panel

ABSTRACT

An environmentally resilient building product of a vinyl laminated formed-sheet metallic substrate wherein the vinyl laminate is adhesively attached to the formed-sheet metallic substrate to provide a durable and attractive surface. Possible decorative and resilient surfaces include, but are not limited to solid colors, metallic finishes, and graphical images or patterns, all available in a variety of textures.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. utilityapplication entitled, “Method of Manufacturing an EnvironmentallyResilient Structural Panel,” having Ser. No. 12/536,275, filed Aug. 5,2009, which is a divisional application of co-pending U.S. utilityapplication entitled, “Environmentally Resilient Corrugated BuildingProducts and Methods of Manufacture,” having Ser. No. 11/035,548, filedJan. 13, 2005, which is still pending, and which are entirelyincorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure is generally related to building products and,more particularly, is related to products and manufacturing methods forenvironmentally resilient building products.

BACKGROUND

Many different products have utilized, and continue to utilize, sheetmetal as a raw material for constructing various components. Sheet metalgenerally possesses a high tensile strength, but is often very flexible.For structural purposes, the flexibility can be reduced through the useof additional structure attached to the sheet metal, such as beams,purlins, bars, and posts, among others. Additional structuralcomponents, however, increase the cost for the additional materials andincrease the size and weight of the assembled component.

One method for avoiding the requirement for additional structure is tobreak or bend the sheet along a line where the reduction in flexibilityis desired. When done as a series of parallel bends to form channels orridges, this is known as corrugating. Corrugating is known to producemetal sheet products with significantly reduced flexibility along atleast one axis. Although the corrugation may be produced by performing aseries of independent breaks on a metal sheet, corrugating machines alsoreferred to as roll forming machines have been developed to providecorrugation to flat sheet metal in a continuous process. An example ofthe prior art relating to roll forming machines can be found in U.S.Pat. No. 4,269,055, which is hereby incorporated by reference in itsentirety.

Metal sheets are often used in applications where specific aestheticproperties are desirable on at least one surface of the metal sheet. Insome cases, the aesthetic property may constitute a specific color.Methods for applying a solid color to corrugated metallic products havepreviously been performed using spraying or coating processes 100, asillustrated in FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 1, the flat metallic product110 is unrolled from a coil 102 and made proximate to, for example,spray nozzles 120, which deliver a sprayed paint or coating 130 to thesurface of the flat metallic product 110. After coating or painting, theflat metallic product is dried or cured using, for example, a heater oroven 140 and then rolled into a coil 104. Other cases may requirespecific graphical images or patterns in lieu of a solid color. Somemethods of applying a graphical image or pattern to flat metallicproduct include immersion graphics methods where, for example, an inkedfilm is applied to the flat metallic product, which is then immersed todissolve the film, leaving the ink image or pattern on the flat metallicproduct. Like the painted coating products discussed above, theimmersion graphics products may not provide a surface that issufficiently resistant to scratching, abrasion, weathering, or fadingdue to outdoor exposure or mechanical impact associated with subsequentprocessing, assembly, or use.

One technique for providing mechanically resilient protection formetallic sheet products includes laminating. The laminating process 200in this context, as illustrated in FIG. 2, includes adhesively bonding agraphic film 202 to at least one surface of a flat metallic sheet 201.By way of example, the graphic film 202 may be applied using thepressure of a laminating roll 220. Additionally, the laminating roll 220may possess specific surface properties which are transferred orembossed into the surface of the graphic film 202 during application.The resulting laminated metallic sheet 210 includes a graphic film 202,which may possess specific aesthetic properties including solid colors,metallic finishes, patterns, and graphical images. Additionally, ifembossing was performed, the graphic film 202 may possess specificsurface finish properties such as brushed, matte, or pebbled, amongothers. This process, however, has only been applicable to flat productsbecause the manufacturing impracticality of continuously processinglaminated corrugated products. For example, previous attempts tocorrugate a laminated sheet have resulted in a graphic film that weakensand cracks during subsequent processing and is not resistant to damagingelements associated with an outdoor environment.

Thus, a heretofore-unaddressed need exists in the industry to addressthe aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an environmentallyresilient structural product, comprising: a vinyl laminate and aformed-sheet metallic substrate having a first side; wherein the vinyllaminate is adhesively attached to the first side.

Briefly described, other embodiments of the present disclosure providean environmentally resilient outdoor building, comprising: at least oneformed-sheet metallic panel, the panel comprising a vinyl layer, and acorrugated metallic substrate having a first side, wherein the vinyllayer is bonded to the first side.

Embodiments of the present disclosure can also be viewed as methods forproviding a decorative, environmentally resilient, structurallysignificant panel. In this regard, one embodiment of such a method,among others, can be broadly summarized by the following steps: bondinga first side of a vinyl layer to a first side of a flat metallic sheet;and deforming the flat metallic sheet to create a plurality of parallelribs in the first side of the metallic sheet.

Other systems, methods, features, and advantages of the presentdisclosure will be or become apparent to one with skill in the art uponexamination of the following drawings and detailed description. It isintended that all such additional systems, methods, features, andadvantages be included within this description, be within the scope ofthe present disclosure, and be protected by the accompanying claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Many aspects of the disclosure can be better understood with referenceto the following drawings. The components in the drawings are notnecessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearlyillustrating the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, in thedrawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding partsthroughout the several views.

FIG. 1 is a side view of a coating/painting process for metal productsas is known in the prior art.

FIG. 2 is a side view of a process of applying a laminate to flatmetallic sheet as is known in the prior art.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of a side-elevational view of an exemplaryroll former used in an embodiment, as disclosed herein.

FIG. 4 is an illustration of a partial top view of the exemplary rollformer of FIG. 3 used in an embodiment, as disclosed herein.

FIG. 5 is an illustration of a partial end view of a set ofcomplementary rollers and a partial cross-sectional view of a vinyllaminated metallic sheet of the exemplary roll former of FIG. 3 used inan embodiment, as disclosed herein.

FIG. 6 is a side cross-sectional view of a flat metallic sheet with avinyl laminate.

FIG. 7 is an end cross-sectional view of a vinyl-laminated corrugatedmetal sheet, as disclosed herein.

FIG. 8 is an illustration of side-elevational view of an exemplary rollformer used in an embodiment, as disclosed herein.

FIGS. 9A-9D are end cross-sectional views of exemplary formed-sheetvinyl laminated metallic products, as disclosed herein.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of an exemplary method of producingenvironmentally resilient products as disclosed herein.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of an exemplary building constructed usingenvironmentally resilient corrugated metallic products, as disclosedherein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference is now made in detail to the description of the embodiments asillustrated in the drawings. While several embodiments are described inconnection with these drawings, there is no intent to limit theinvention to the embodiment or embodiments disclosed herein. On thecontrary, the intent is to cover all alternatives, modifications, andequivalents.

Reference is made to FIG. 3, which illustrates a side-elevational viewof an exemplary roll former used in an embodiment, as disclosed herein.The roll former 300 begins with a vinyl laminated flat metallic sheet305, as manufactured in a device consistent with the prior art, asdiscussed in reference to FIG. 2 addressed in the preceding Backgroundsection. The vinyl laminated flat metallic sheet 305 of FIG. 3 retains acarrier film (not shown) associated with the vinyl laminating material.The vinyl laminated flat metallic sheet 305 is propelled in direction Aand drawn between a first set of complementary forming rollers 322 and323 to form a first set of channels/ridges, creating a partially formedsheet 306. The partially formed sheet 306 is propelled from the firstset of complementary forming rollers 322 and 323 and drawn between asecond set of complementary rollers 324 and 325. The secondcomplementary forming rollers 324 and 325 form additionalchannels/ridges to create partially formed sheet 307. Similarly, thepartially formed sheet 307 proceeds through complementary formingrollers 326 and 327 to form a final set of channels/ridges such that thecorrugated sheet 308 is created. The corrugated vinyl laminated metallicsheet 308 is then fed into a shear 340, where the continuous sheet iscut into panels for subsequent packaging or manufacturing (not shown).

Reference is now made to FIG. 4, which illustrates a partial top view ofthe exemplary forming roller table of FIG. 3, as discussed above. Thevinyl laminated flat metallic sheet 305 is propelled in a direction Abetween a first top forming roller 322 and a first bottom formingroller, which is not visible in this view. The partially formed sheet306 produced by the first complementary forming rollers 322 and 323 (seeFIG. 3) has channels/ridges 316 corresponding to the profile of the gapbetween the first forming rollers 322 and 323 (see FIG. 3). Thepartially formed sheet 306 is then drawn into the gap between a secondtop forming roller 324 and a second bottom forming roller, which is notvisible in this view. The partially formed sheet 307 produced by thefirst and second complementary forming rollers 322, 323 (see FIG. 3),324, and 325 (see FIG. 3) has channels/ridges 317 corresponding to thecumulative profile of the gaps between the two sets of complementaryforming rollers 322, 323, 324, and 325.

The partially formed sheet 307 is similarly drawn between a third topforming roller 326 and a complementary third bottom forming roller,which is not visible in this view. A final set of channels/ridges 318 isformed resulting in a corrugated vinyl laminated metallic sheet 308.Note that as the vinyl laminated metallic sheet progresses through eachof the sets of complementary forming rollers, the width of the sheet isreduced by the portion of the sheet profile which is deformed to createthe depth and height of the channels/ridges, respectively. In otherwords, the final corrugated vinyl laminated metallic sheet 308 is not aswide as the vinyl laminated flat metallic sheet 305 that entered theforming roller table 320. One of ordinary skill in the art knows, orwill know, that the complementary forming roller configurations of FIGS.3 and 4 are merely exemplary and that a roll former 300 configured withany number, combination, or configuration of forming rollers isconsistent with this disclosure. For example, an alternative roll former300 may have four or more complementary sets of forming rollers, eachconfigured to produce a single channel or ridge in a vinyl laminatedmetallic sheet.

Reference is briefly made to FIG. 5, which is an illustration of apartial end view of a set of complementary rollers with a partialcross-sectional view of a vinyl laminated metallic sheet. As discussedabove, the top forming roller 322 has a complementary profile with thebottom-forming roller 323. As the vinyl laminated metallic sheet 306 isdrawn through the gap between the two forming rollers 322 and 323, thechannel/ridge 316 is formed. One of ordinary skill in the art knows orwill know that the multiple channels/ridges 316 may be formed bymultiple serially arranged forming roller sets configured at specificwidths across the vinyl laminated metallic sheet and that the multiplechannels/ridges may aggregate to form a corrugated sheet. Further, oneof ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the channels/ridgesmay have different depths, widths, and shape profiles.

Further, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that a rollformer is but one way to produce formed-sheet products. For example, inaddition to roll forming, sheets can be formed using bends, breaks, orfolds for introducing the additional dimensional characteristicsassociated with formed-sheet products. Additionally, one of ordinaryskill in the art knows or will know that a formed-sheet product includesany sheet product subsequently processed to introduced additionaldimensional characteristics including products with any number,configuration, or combination of bends, breaks, folds, curls, or rolls.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 6 and 7, which illustrate cross-sectionalend views of a vinyl laminated flat metallic sheet and a vinyl-laminatedcorrugated metal sheet, respectively. The vinyl laminated flat metallicsheet 600 is formed by a laminating process, such as the processdisclosed in the above discussion of FIG. 2, and includes a vinyllaminate 602, which has a thickness of at least 0.0005 inches, bonded toat least one side of the flat metallic sheet 601, which has an exemplarythickness ranging from 10 gauge to 35 gauge. The corrugated vinyllaminated metallic sheet 700 of FIG. 7 includes the corrugated metallicsubstrate 701 and a vinyl layer 702 bonded to at least one side of thecorrugated metallic substrate 701. Additionally, the corrugated vinyllaminated metallic sheet 700 includes multiple parallel channels 710 andridges 720.

The metallic sheets or substrates as disclosed herein may be steel,aluminum, tin, copper, or brass, among others.

The bonding of the vinyl layer 602 to the metallic sheet 601 isperformed on a flat metallic sheet, as previously discussed in referenceto FIG. 2. The vinyl laminated flat metallic sheet may be processedusing the methods herein to produce the corrugated vinyl laminatedmetallic sheet. Although the corrugated profile of the product 700 isillustrated as including three primary ribs 720 per section with twosecondary ribs 710 between each of the primary ribs 720, one of ordinaryskill in the art knows or will know that the methods herein may beutilized to produce numerous combinations of ribs having various andvaried geometric profiles and dimensional characteristics. The product700 also includes a vinyl layer 702 bonded to one side of the metallicsheet 701. The vinyl layer 702, which has a thickness of at least 0.0005inches, is UV-stabilized and provides an ultra-violet light resistantprotective covering for the metallic sheet 701. Additionally, theproduct 700 provides a vinyl layer 702 that is resistant todelamination. The vinyl layer 702 also provides a decorative finish forthe product 700. For example, the vinyl layer 702 may have solid coloror some graphical representation. Exemplary graphical representationsinclude, but are not limited to, metallic finishes such as gold orsilver including different textures such as brushed, matte, pebbled, orgloss, among others. Other exemplary graphical representations include,but are not limited to, natural finishes such as wood grain or anoutdoor environment blending pattern such as, for example, one soldunder the registered trademark, REALTREE®.

Reference is now made to FIG. 8, which illustrates a side-elevationalview of an exemplary roll former used in an embodiment, as disclosedherein. The roll former 800 begins with a vinyl laminated flat metallicsheet 805, as manufactured in a device consistent with the prior art, aspreviously discussed in reference to FIG. 2. The vinyl layer 815 of thevinyl laminated flat metallic sheet 805 includes a carrier film 832,that may be removed from the vinyl laminated flat metallic sheet 805 orit may be left in place during the forming operation. If the carrierfilm 832 is removed before the vinyl laminated flat metallic sheet 805enters the forming roller table 820, the carrier film is wound onto aseparate roll 830. Although, as illustrated, only one side of the vinyllaminated flat metallic sheet is shown as having a vinyl laminate, oneof ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that both sides of thevinyl laminated flat metallic sheet may have a vinyl laminate applied.In an embodiment having two sides of vinyl laminate, the removal of asecond carrier film may be performed prior to the roll forming processor the second carrier film may remain attached during subsequentprocessing.

After removing the carrier film 832, the vinyl laminated flat metallicsheet 806 is drawn between a first set of complementary forming rollers822 and 823 to form a first set of channels/ridges, creating a partiallyformed sheet 806. The partially formed sheet 806 is propelled from thefirst set of complementary forming rollers 822 and 823 and drawn betweena second set of complementary rollers 824 and 825. The second set ofcomplementary forming rollers 824 and 825 forms additionalchannels/ridges to create partially formed sheet 807. Similarly, thepartially formed sheet 807 proceeds through complementary formingrollers 826 and 827 to form another set of ridges/channels such that thecorrugated sheet 808 is produced without the carrier film 832. One ofordinary skill in the art knows or will know that the roll formingprocess may be performed by four or more sets of forming rollers, eachconfigured to generate an element of the overall profile. The corrugatedvinyl laminated metallic sheet 808 may then be fed into a shear 840,where the continuous sheet is cut into panels for subsequent packagingor manufacturing (not shown). Additionally, excess vinyl laminate may betrimmed at one or more of numerous different stages of themanufacturing. For example, the vinyl laminate may be trimmed before orafter the roll forming 820 or before, after, or during the shearfunction 840.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 9A-9D, which illustrate endcross-sectional views of exemplary formed-sheet vinyl laminated metallicproducts, as disclosed herein. The exemplary profile of FIG. 9A includesfive primary ribs 902, each separated by two wide, shallow ribs 904. Theexemplary profile of FIG. 19B similarly includes four primary ribs 912,each separated by two wide, shallow ribs 914. As is shown, the primaryribs 912 of FIG. 9B illustrate a different geometrical and dimensionalprofile than the primary ribs 902 of FIG. 9A. The exemplary profile ofFIG. 9C similarly includes four primary channels 922, each separated bytwo wide, shallow channels 924. The exemplary profile illustrated inFIG. 9D includes four wide, shallow channels 932, one standing seamlocking surface 934, and one standing seam locking tab 936.

Reference is now made to FIG. 10, which is a block diagram of anexemplary method of producing environmentally resilient products, asdisclosed herein. The method 1000 first bonds a vinyl layer to a flatmetallic sheet in step 1010. Next, optional step 1020 constitutesremoving the carrier film component of the vinyl layer. The vinyllaminated flat metallic sheet is deformed using, for example, a rollforming device, to produce channels/ridges in block 1030. In block 1040the excess vinyl material is trimmed from the edges of the metallicsheet, if present. This step may be optionally performed before or afterthe deforming step.

Reference is now made to FIG. 11, which illustrates a perspective viewof an exemplary building constructed using environmentally resilientcorrugated products, as disclosed herein. The building 1100 may be fullyor partially constructed utilizing corrugated vinyl laminated metallicwall panels 1110 consistent with the disclosure herein. Corrugated vinyllaminated metallic wall panels 1110 may be produced from metallicsubstrate in the exemplary thickness range from 18 gauge to 30 gauge. Asdiscussed above, the vinyl laminated panels are environmentallyresilient. Additionally, or in the alternative, the building 1100 mayalso utilize one or more corrugated vinyl laminated metallic roof panels1120 for all or part of the roof. Corrugated vinyl laminated metallicroof panels 1120 may be produced from metallic substrate in theexemplary thickness range from 18 gauge to 30 gauge.

It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of thepresent disclosure, particularly, any illustrated embodiments, aremerely possible examples of implementations, merely to provide a clearunderstanding of the principles of the disclosure. Many variations andmodifications may be made to the above-described embodiment(s) of thedisclosure without departing substantially from the spirit andprinciples of the disclosure. All such modifications and variations areintended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure andthe present disclosure and protected by the following claims.

1. A method for providing a decorative, environmentally resilient,structurally significant panel, comprising the steps of: providing acoiled flat, metallic sheet; unrolling the coiled metallic sheet;permanently bonding a first side of a vinyl laminate sheet materialhaving a thickness of at least 0.0005 inches to a first side of theuncoiled flat metallic sheet being coated wherein a second side of themetallic sheet is uncoated; deforming the flat metallic sheet, with thevinyl laminate sheet material bonded thereto, to create a deformation inthe metallic sheet and in the vinyl laminate sheet material; and cuttingthe sheet into panels in order to form a building panel.
 2. The methodof claim 1, wherein the second side of the vinyl laminate sheet materialcomprises a graphical appearance.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein thegraphical appearance is an outdoor environment blending pattern.
 4. Themethod of claim 2, wherein the graphical appearance is selected from thegroup of: wood grain; metallic; solid color, and an outdoor environmentblending pattern.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the vinyl laminatesheet material exhibits an ultra-violet light degradation resistance. 6.The method of claim 1, wherein the flat metallic sheet comprises steelhaving a thickness between 10 gauge and 35 gauge, inclusively.
 7. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the panel exhibits material stressesassociated with forming the plurality of parallel ribs after bonding thevinyl laminate sheet material to the panel.